Participatory ergonomics as a method of quality improvement in maintenance

Abstract

Modern enterprises are forced to constantly improve ways of management and to introduce changes. One of the changes is a alteration of organizational culture and acceptance of participation of employees in designing and implementing new solutions. Striving for general improvement of system efficiency involves joint design of technical and social systems to achieve the best fitness to goals and requirements of system and its parts possible. Not only technical objects, but also workers and workplaces (work environment) require keeping in good condition. Such approach to maintenance stresses human importance and workers place in systems they work in. It also stresses necessity for not engineers, but also quality and ergonomics experts as well as technical objects users to involve into maintenance actions and processes. The paper presents potential of participatory ergonomics to maintenance quality improvement use. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.